Spending on clothing/accessories became ‘one of the key non-essentials consumers said they were deprioritising’, according to a new annual report by Barclays.
Clothes stores “had a challenging year,” with 2023 card spending actually falling 0.5 per cent year over year in this category due to rising expenses and unpredictable weather.
Nevertheless, even if the overarching theme centres on consumers giving fashion a high priority, the weather had a significant role. According to the survey, the decline was mostly caused by May, July, and October’s unusually warm weather, which discouraged Britons from buying seasonal apparel.
However, as a result of those extensive reductions, total consumer card spending grew by just 4.1 per cent annually, a significant decrease from the 10.6 per cent growth recorded in 2022.
